Block 64 – Rising Star

Wow. Let me just say that again slowly. W-o-w. If I thought Jane had some tiny pieces in her blocks; if I thought that paper pieced dress had some tiny pieces…..there weren’t many of them – just 12 – but those little white pieces in the middle? They start out as 1″ squares. I know what you’re thinking – but you’re working on 6″ block so that seems doable. The next step is to draw a diagonal on that 1″ (unfinished) square and sew it to the corner of a 2.5″ unfinished square. So really, the unfinished size of that white square is 1/2″ and the finished size? Teensy tiny itsy bitsy. I live in Texas. It’s still hot here and I tend to run an oscillating fan when I sew but I didn’t dare on this block; those would’ve blown away and been lost forever.

The rest of the block was easy though! A while back I custom ordered a die for my Patchwork of the Crosses quilt. I am currently sewing the sashes to the blocks I’ve already made so nothing too exciting to report. But that die happens to include a 1″ square that I use for the template where it calls for the square. I’m so glad I had that because being a couple of threads off on something that starts out at just 1″ is going to make a difference. For good measure, I used my 2 1/” die for the other 9 squares. There was some glue basting going on and I put the governor on the pedal to super slow to make sure that I took my time with this one. And I threw in a different medium blue that I bought this week for good measure.

I couldn’t put it off; today was the day I would baste what I’ve dubbed the “purple star quilt” but its real name is Anna’s Starflake designed by Nancy McNally. I always like picking out the pattern for a quilt; sometimes choosing fabric can be daunting but it is fun. Sewing a quilt top? Hands down my favorite part. Quilting it? That’s the part that I’m usually nervous to start since it can easily go awry and those are stitches I dread having to pick out. Binding? I like it more now than I used to and it is the final step so it’s okay. But basting. Oh basting. If it’s a lap sized quilt or a baby quilt it’s no big deal. If my handy assistant is available to help then it goes faster (that would be the husband!). But no such luck this time. I was on my own today. The first thing I did was to knock over my bowl that supposedly keeps all my magnetic pins in it but as you can see it’s not as magnetic as I thought! That quilt is basted my friends and I even started the quilting on it tonight.

In an attempt to put it off as long as possible, I called my sister. I called my sister-in-law. I got lucky and another friend called and told me about her trip to Niagara Falls. Oh and I started cutting out the next quilts I’m working on. This one will be easy peasy. 6″ squares, 3×6″ sashing and 3″ cornerstones using the 12″ Qube from Accuquilt.

I can never remember the difference between Star Wars and Star Trek. I know one of them has the Starship Lollipop or some name like that. One of them has “Luke I am your Fadder” as a quote and one has a guy with pointy ears. But mostly what I know is my son and my nephew both like Star Wars so I’m making them identical quilts for Christmas. That’s a wrap for today!

Those one inch pieces really paid off, this Rising Star block is pretty cool! Reproduction fabrics are fun to shop for! I am just like you, I get confused over Star Trek and Star Wars and then everyone rolls their eyes at me and thinks I’m from outer space for not knowing the difference! Now ask me a question about quilting, fabrics, their differences, designs, etc. and I can talk for hours!